David Thompson (Canada West politician)

David Thompson (1793 – 1851) was an entrepreneur and a political figure in Canada West. He represented Haldimand in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1841 to 1851 as a Reformer.

He served as an officer in the militia during the War of 1812 and was a contractor during the construction of the first Welland Canal. Thompson built a number of mills on the Grand River which led to the establishment of the town of Indiana. He cleared land and built his home on what would later be known as the Ruthven Estate, now a National Historic Site of Canada.[1][2] With William Hamilton Merritt, Thompson was a promoter of the Grand River Navigation Company, an enterprise which transformed the Grand River into a navigable waterway for commercial activity between Brantford and Lake Erie. Thompson died in office in 1851.

His son David represented Haldimand in the assembly for the Province of Canada and the Canadian House of Commons.

References

  1. ↑ Ruthven Park, Directory of Designations of National Historic Significance of Canada
  2. ↑ Ruthven Park. Canadian Register of Historic Places.
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